The Fire Within
by Kristaismyname
Summary: Kamea, a young fire bender, leaves her home to try to find the avatar. She must find him and defeat the Fire Lord Sozin in order to prevent him from taking over the world.
1. The Beginning

Nuree sighed as she walked into her room. She instantly saw the letter sitting on her pillow, since its white envelope contrasted boldly against her red sheets. She hated the color red; it reminded her of death and blood. But she was fire nation and didn't have much choice when it came to room decoration. Every room was red and Nuree hated the color red.

She walked over to her bedspread and sat down, her long blond hair cascading down her back and shoulders. She didn't want to read this letter; she already knew what it would say. She sighed again as she ripped open the letter and instantly recognized the hand writing.

_N:_

_Meeting didn't go well. Meet me at the stables at 0400._

_K_

"Did you really think it was going to go the way you wanted it to, Kamea?" Nuree said to nobody in particular, she was alone after all.

She stood and pulled out a small bag from underneath her bed and began packing. She packed 2 sets of commoners clothing, a knife, a small bag of food, and a small bag of money. She then packed a small bed roll containing a pillow and blanket.

As she finished packing, she walked to her desk and found a parchment and some ink. She sat down and began to write.

Kamea sat in her room, staring at her ceiling. She needed to start packing soon; she was leaving in less than four hours. She was frustrated. The meeting with the Fire Nation army and her father did not go well.

"_Sir" The general started, "I really enjoy this plan, but what about the avatar?"_

_The fire lord was quiet. He was a big man: muscular, as well as tall. His hair was grey but that didn't make him any less intimidating: He was not a cute old man, he was a mean one. His coal-colored eyes darkened as he thought. _

"_As we all know," he began "I have already taken care of the previous Avatar, Roku. And his new incarnation is an air nomad up north, a young fellow named Aang."_

_He smiled a terrible smile that made him look wicked._

"_We will strike the air temples first! In three weeks, when the comet, Sozin's comet, passes, that's when we will begin our quest for world domination."_

_Kamea gasped, but it went unheard as the fire nation army and the fire lord celebrated what would soon be a change in power. Fire Lord Sozin would soon become all-powerful. Kamea glanced at her brothers. Rayte sat, stoic and unreadable as always. Azulon, on the other hand, began chanting:_

"_All hail Sozin! All Hail Sozin!"_

Kamea grunted as she recalled sitting in the "war room". She hated the fire nation and everything it stood for. She hated her father too, but she had always hated him. And he was about to become an all-powerful dictator. That thought alone had terrified Kamea enough to do what needed to be done. She had to get to the avatar before it was too late.

She stood and walked across her room and found a small bag. She packed 2 sets of commoners clothing, a small bag of money, a small bag of food and a map. She also packed a small bed roll that contained a pillow, a knife, and a blanket. She looked around her room to see if she forgot anything. Her room was huge and contained a large 4-post bed in the center, but other than a small desk and a dressing table, it was bare. Kamea would have preferred a simple, quiet cottage to this boring mansion.

She looked at her bag and smiled. It contained just the bare necessities. It was all she needed to survive.

"Well Riz, I guess I won't be living the life of luxury anymore." Riz, her small ferret, squeaked in response. He stood and looked in her bag and then climbed in himself.

Kamea laughed.

"You're right Riz, can't forget you!"

She looked at the clock and sighed. Just three hours of sleep. She smiled as she thought of Nuree. She would be a beast in the morning. Everyone knew Nuree did not function like a civilized human being until at least 11. But Kamea shrugged it off. They needed to leave as soon as possible, and without her father knowing and right now she needed to get some sleep.

Kamea woke and began to get dressed. She pulled on long pants and a long shirt; she could change later if she needed.

She walked over to her mirror. She looked at her short, choppy hair and smiled. She had cut it with a knife, refusing to wear the traditional Fire Nation top-knot. She remembered how pissed her father had been when he'd seen what she'd done. Her father had been so irate and she ended up getting a lovely scar on her leg, but she didn't mind. Her hair was worth it. It made her look older and it didn't fall in her face or hide yet another scar. She liked her hair, it showed off her big brown eyes.

It was also rebellious. Kamea liked rebellious.

Kamea grabbed her stuff from underneath her bed and woke her ferret. Riz squeaked in protest and Kamea shook him.

"I'm not carrying you Riz, either get up now, or I leave without you."

Riz sat up and slowly trudged behind Kamea.

"Good boy!"

She grabbed her cloak and started down the hallway. She stopped short when she saw a man standing in the hallway.

"Shit, I didn't think about Rayte." Kamea mumbled to herself.

"Kamea, you do realize dad and Azulon are going to be pissed when they figure out what you're doing!" Rayte said. Even in the darkness, Kamea knew he was scowling. His strong arms were crossed over his broad chest and his dark coal-like eyes were gazing down at her. Rayte was 6 foot tall and handsome. Every woman in the Fire Nation was in love with him, including Nuree.

"Whatever do you mean, brother?" Kamea asked, as innocently as she could.

"Kamea, you know exactly what I mean." He said and she could see his eyes narrowing in the darkness. "I saw the way you reacted to dad's plan. Didn't like the idea of him becoming a super-fire-lord or whatever he called it? Kamea, I'm not stupid and I know you. You're going to find the Avatar before dad does, aren't you?"

"Are you going to try to stop me?" She asked, frustrated that he had figured her out so easily. Her father wasn't nearly as perceptive when it came to her though, so she still had a chance for this to work if Rayte let her leave.

"No… and why should I? We both know that you could easily beat me at bending. Besides, dad shouldn't be able to figure this out for at least a couple days, when you don't return. But I do have one question for you."

"What? Rayte, I'm kind of in a hurry."

"What about Ezai?"

Now it was Kamea's turn to narrow her eyes at her older brother.

"What about Ezai? I don't owe him anything!" She spat.

"You owe him a wedding! Or did you forget you were betrothed?"

Kamea smirked.

"Not by choice, brother. Or did you forget it was arranged?"

Rayte remained quiet for a while.

"Well whatever, I'll tell him the wedding has been cancelled once dad finds out about your plan. And he will find out Kamea." Rayte told her, giving her a look.

Kamea knew this.

"And when he does, you can tell him and his men to stuff it! You can also guarantee that I will be waiting for them with a smile on my face and fire in my hands."

"Still as cocky as ever." Rayte said, finally smiling and shaking his head. "I'm going to bed now, sister. Try to stay out of trouble! Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"I will keep in touch, Rayte." She said as she left.

Kamea ran towards the stables. She saw her friend at once. Nuree was dressed similarly to Kamea but her long blond hair was braided down her back. Her green eyes glared down at Kamea.

"You're late!" Nuree whispered angrily. "We were supposed to leave 10 minutes ago!"

"I know, Nuree, but Rayte…you know how he is. He doesn't go to sleep until the wee hours of the morning. Anyways he stopped me and had a nice little chit chat with me." Kamea said as she began to saddle up her giant kimono dragon, Shippa.

"Well what was so important that you left me out here waiting for ten minutes?" Nuree asked. She was not a pleasant person without sleep.

"He was telling me he knew about our plan and that our dad would find out in a couple days, because, well its dad. And he was also asking me about Ezai."

Nuree grunted.

"Doesn't he know Ezai is an arrogant jack ass? Whatever let's just take Shippa and go!"

The girls travelled for 2 days straight before making camp in a seemingly deserted area near the main road. Kamea must have fallen asleep during her watch shift, because the next thing she knew, she was surrounded by six men.

"Well well well, what do we have here?" The tall one in the middle began. He was in his late 30s and was very muscular. "Looks like we have two Fire Nation girls. Doesn't look like they're wearing bender robes, does it fellas? Take care of them; I'm sure we could have a lot of fun with these girls."

The men moved towards them and Kamea reached for the knife under her pillow. She tucked it in her sleeve and began to stand. Nuree sent her a look, telling her to back down, but Kamea was never one to back down from a fight.

"Hello men, what can I help you with?" She said, as sweetly as she could.

"You sure are pretty. I can't wait to have my way with you." The tall man in the center replied as he and his lackeys inched closer.

"Sorry fellas, I'm afraid that is not an option." Kamea replied. She proceeded to send two fireballs towards one of the lackeys, knocking him back. Shock quickly registered across the face of the "leader", but only for a second. With a trained hand he unscrewed his water jug quickly and created a whip, attacking Kamea and grabbing her wrist.

How did Kamea not notice they were water benders? Rookie mistake.

Kamea was dragged towards the man. She struggled to free herself and sent fire flying from her free hand, but the man dodged it easily enough. The man had a very strong grip against her wrist as he pulled her closer. He pulled out some rope from his pocket, clearly hoping to tie her wrists together. Suddenly, a slate of rock shot up between the leader and Kamea, breaking his hold on her.

Kamea, quickly recovered from the surprise, and used fire bending to create a long sword from her hand. She slashed feverishly at the man in front of her until she seriously injured him and he could no longer move.

She turned to Nuree and noticed that she had taken care of two of the lackeys. Kamea joined her and began to kick and throw as much fire as she could toward the remaining two men. She threw a large fireball at the man closest to her, knocking him into a tree and rendering him unconscious. The last man was taken out by a large rock formation appearing out of the ground and knocking him airborne.

Kamea surveyed the area and noticed that even though all six men had been rendered unconscious, they were still bound to the earth by shackles made of heavy rock, which covered their hands and feet.

Kamea frowned and whispered to Nuree to pack her things.

"We're leaving Nuree. There's an earth bender around."

They began to pack their things.

Kamea was caught off guard when her feet were suddenly shackled to the ground with earth.

The girl looked up in surprise at a young blonde man walking towards her and her friend.

Kamea fired two shots of flames that the earth bender easily defended against.

"Can I trust you?" He asked, his voice deep.

"I'm Nuree and this is Kamea. We're traveling to find the Avatar and we mean you no harm. In fact, we were just leaving!"

The young earth bender sighed and smiled at the girls.

"Just because you're looking for the Avatar doesn't mean I should let you go! You're still Fire Nation and rumor has it that the Fire Nation is planning a war. And besides, I don't like Fire Nation."

Kamea stared at the earth bender. How could he possibly know so much? But she realized she wanted a wise man like this on her team, and the different bending strategy could definitely be of use in the future.

"We're trying to find the Avatar to prevent the war. And I don't like Fire Nation either." Kamea finally said.

The young earth bender looked up in surprised at Kamea. Kamea decided to further explain her situation. He already knew too much and he would be better as an ally.

"Look, I'm Sozin's daughter and I hate him. He's insane if he thinks he can take over the world. We have to find the Avatar before my father kills him."

The earth bender nodded. "You're trying to stop your own father? That's a bold move, Kamea. Why in the world would you go against him?"

"He's a power hungry bastard, and nobody else should suffer under his wrath. See this scar?" she asked him pulling up her pant leg and pointing to a long scar that ran from her thigh to her calf. "He gave me this one, just for cutting my hair short."

"What about the one on your face?" The earth bender asked him, nodding towards her. Her face was covered in a nasty purple scar that traced from her forehead to her cheek.

"That one I got for my 16th birthday. He forced me to fight my brother, Azulon. I told him that I didn't want to bend on my brother, so he punished me. He wanted to show the world how weak I was and he said it would be a constant reminder of it. So you can see why I hate my father. I hate everything he does and everything he is and I want him to stop. Because if he can do shit like this to his _own children,_ then what's stopping him from mass genocide?"

The earth bender was silent for a moment, clearly contemplating the girls before him. He finally released them and smiled.

"I'm Kaime," He said, "but you can call me Kai for short. I want to join you in your search for the avatar."


	2. 2 Weeks

Kamea stared at the man before her. There was something about him that made Kamea feel as though he could be trusted. Kai was tall, about 6'2" and blonde. He was a good earth bender and he seemed innocent enough. Plus, he did just help them get out of a rather unpleasant situation.

"Fine, you're in!" Kamea sighed after a couple minutes.

That's when Kamea noticed his green eyes that hinted at mischief and his goofy smirk plastered on his face.

"You won't regret this, babe." He said after length.

"Babe?!" Kamea started, but Kai continued.

"I saw you checking me out. I'm flattered! But, you're not my type."

"Watch it! This is only a trial period; I can kick you out any time I want!" Kamea replied, with as much anger in her voice as she could muster.

Kamea then proceeded to walk away, leaving Nuree and Kai staring after her.

"What's wrong with her?" Kai asked the blonde next to him.

Nuree just shrugged and started to walk away.

"You called her babe." She called to him over her shoulder.

The three of them rode on the back of Shippa in silence. Kamea was trying to determine if she made a mistake in allowing Kai to help them. She wanted to believe that she had, but besides the fact that he had called her babe, there really was nothing wrong with him.

"So Kamea I need to tell you something." Nuree began, suddenly breaking the silence and pulling Kamea from her thoughts. She shifted a little, she was obviously unsure of how to approach this topic.

"I wrote my mom before we left!" Nuree said, suddenly.

"What? Why!" Kamea asked.

"I didn't want her to worry. You know how my mom worries." Nuree said, not meeting Kamea's eyes.

"Well that's just fantastic." Kamea said, her words dripping with sarcasm. "You don't think she will tell my family? Great! Dear old daddy has probably sent men after us by now. They'll find us in no time."

Kamea paused, collecting her thoughts.

"Well, I guess we just cross that bridge when we get to it, there's nothing more we can do on the matter. And besides, we will be at the air temple in no time."

This was true. It would be less than a day of travelling until they were at the air temple, and that included a break for lunch. This was perfect timing since there were only 2 weeks until the comet and she didn't know if the Avatar was ready. From what she had heard, he was a little kid, and that didn't sit well with her. Little kids were unreliable. Besides, she hated children. She was lost in her thoughts again for several minutes, trying to figure out what their future plans should be.

Kai interrupted her by nudging her with his foot.

She glared at him.

"What?"

"I asked you why you guys decided to start this journey now. I mean, why on such short notice? You only have 2 weeks now until your father decides to kill the Avatar, so why didn't you do this sooner?"

Kamea let out a frustrated grunt.

"Kai, I just turned 18 two weeks ago. Therefore, this was my first meeting with the Fire Lord and the Fire Nation army. Trust me, if I would have known about this plan sooner, I would have stepped in and done something a long time ago. My father is a sick bastard and I can't wait until he's gone."

The trio sat in silence for a long time, none of them knowing what to say next.

"Kai how did you know the Fire Nation was getting ready to start a war?" Kamea asked "That was classified information, even I didn't know until a week ago."

"I know a fire bender who also hates your father." Kai responded with a smirk.

"If you knew why didn't you do something?" Kamea snapped.

"I was on my way to attack the fire lord, but your plan seems better, so I followed you. Besides, the fire bender told me that it was futile to try to stop Sozin. If you're scared of him, I can only imagine he's right."

Kamea racked her brain trying to figure out who Kai could possibly be referring to. It couldn't have been Ezai or Azulon because Ezai didn't know and Azulon would never tell a soul, he was far too proud of being the Fire Lord's son. Who would have possibly told him this information?

Rayte, it had to be him.

"Rayte!" Nuree said suddenly, a blush slowly creeping across her cheeks. "You know Rayte? But how?"

Kamea stared at the young earth bender and saw that his eyes confirmed that he did, in fact, know Rayte.

"Rayte travels a lot." Kai said with a shrug. Kamea knew this to be true, though they never talked about it. There were several times she could recall not seeing Rayte for weeks and she was willing to bet anything that Rayte had the scars to prove it.

"How do you guys know Rayte? Is he your boyfriend or something?" Kai asked, causing Nuree to blush furiously. Kamea scoffed.

"He's not my boyfriend, and much to Nuree's disappointment, he isn't hers either." Kamea explained, as Nuree hid her face in her hands. "He's my older brother."

Kai's green eyes flashed with surprise.

"You guys look nothing alike! Plus, Rayte never mentioned anything about being related to the Fire Lord! He just referred to him as Sozin. I'll believe you're siblings when I see it."

"Believe what you want, but he's my older brother and the only person in my family that I like."

Their conversation was cut short as Kamea saw that they were being followed by a fire nation soldier. She pulled Shippa to a halt and prepared herself for a battle. She was surprised however to discover that their pursuer was Ezai. He caught up to them quickly and promptly pulled Kamea into a tight hug. Riz hissed and scratched at Ezai's leg.

"MEA! I found you! I can't believe you would just leave me like this! I was so worried." Ezai gushed, pulling her closer, which Kamea did not think possible.

Kamea brought her knee upwards and proceeded to kick Ezai, hard. He fell to his knees gasping for air.

"How did you find us?"

"Mea…my love…I came to find you…so that we can go back and get married and begin our lives together."

She heard Kai gasp beside her, but she couldn't read the emotions that flashed across his features.

"Please! I am not your love!" Kamea shouted, angry that Ezai couldn't take a hint. "Didn't Rayte tell you? The engagement is finished! I'm refusing your proposal. God, please, why can't anyone understand that I don't want to marry you!? I don't love you. Please, just go back to the Fire Nation and stop this! Stop pursuing me, Ezai, I don't want you and I never will!"

The group was quiet for a moment, all of them registering what had slipped out of Kamea's mouth.

"Harsh" Kaime whistled out.

Kamea glared, successfully silencing him.

"How did you find us?" she repeated to the man still writhing in pain. She was trying to regain control of her emotions, not to mention the situation.

He took a minute to compose himself before answering.

"I noticed Shippa was gone from the stables and I went to find you to tell you, only you were gone too. And so I left that day to find you… So to answer your previous question, no, Rayte did not tell me the engagement was off, because I haven't seen your brother in a week. I have been trying to find you and bring you back home."

Kamea saw the sadness in his eyes and instantly regretted her rant towards the man. Ezai did really like her, but she just couldn't bring herself to reciprocate the gesture. Nevertheless, he didn't deserve to be yelled at for loving someone, even if it was unwanted and unreciprocated.

"Look I'm sorry about what I said, but that doesn't change the fact that I can't, and won't, marry you. We need to get moving and I can't tell you why. Please, just go home."

"I can't Kamea. I need to know you're safe. Let me join you."

"Let him come Kamea, I need another man to talk to." Kai intervened.

"No."

"Mea, if you don't let me come with you, I will tell your father I found you and what direction you're heading. I'm sure he can put two and two together…I know I did."

Kamea's jaw dropped as she stared at Ezai. His smug smirk and gleaming eyes told her that he had indeed figured out her plan. She let out a frustrated grunt and immediately regretted the words that came next.

"Fine. But you don't ride on Shippa." She climbed on the back of her aforementioned kimono dragon, and with that, the trio-turned-quadruplet left to find the Avatar.

They hid Shippa and Ezai's kimono dragon in a nearby clearing as they neared the air temple. The group noticed a small air bender and a flying bison waiting to take people skyward.

"Follow my lead" Kai whispered into Kamea's ear.

"Young Kai, how nice to see you again!" The air bender greeted as the group approached him.

"Aven! I've missed you after all these weeks!" Kai exclaimed, pulling the air bender in for a brief hug.

"And who are these fire bender friends of yours?"

"This is Nuree, my sister, and Kamea, my girlfriend." Kai said, grabbing Kamea's hand. Kamea blushed but didn't pull away. "And this is her brother Ezai."

The young air bender studied the group.

"If this is your sister and girlfriend why are they wearing clothing of the Fire Nation?" Aven asked, glaring at Kamea suspiciously, as if he could see right through Kai's lie. Kai shrugged.

"You know how girls are; love to go shopping and whatnot. Stole them from a couple of bandits because they thought the outfits were cute. As for Ezai here, he thinks the outfit is rather comfortable. Aven please take us up, we need to speak to Monk Gyatso."

"I don't believe you Kai," Aven started. "But I trust your judgment, so you're responsible for them. Well hop on kiddies, the air temple awaits."


End file.
